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Tag:

tar sands

State Department Finds Something Worse Than Keystone

State Department Finds Something Worse Than Keystone

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There is a famous tale in the Bible of King Solomon’s wisdom. When confronted with two women claiming to be the mother of a certain baby, the wise king proposed cutting the baby in half, and giving half to each. When one woman refused, he gave her the baby, since it was clear to him that she must be the real mother.

A State Department report, published recently, after poring over the mountains of data pertaining to the Keystone XL pipeline, in hopes of finding a clear signal to resolve this difficult decision, announced a finding that more people would likely die from spills if the tar sands oil is transported by train, than if the pipeline is completed. That’s because oil train spills occur even more frequently than pipeline spills. Rail is also more expensive. So, one might surmise, as Coral Davenport suggests in the NY Times, that if King Solomon were alive today, he would say that if we care at all about all those people living besides railroad lines, whose lives are about to become a game of Russian roulette, we would go ahead and approve the pipeline.

Except, of course, that tar sands oil is not a baby—unless of course, you count another illustrious literary character, the Tar Baby, that concoction that old Br’er Fox used to first anger and then entrap Br’er Rabbit. You’ll recall that the more Br’er Rabbit fought the Tar Baby, the more tangled up he became.

Delicious parallels aside, we needn’t go there because it’s a false choice.

First of all, the Canadian government, not particularly well known for their level of environmental concern, just approved an alternative pipeline, the Northern Gateway, that would run to the Canadian west coast in British Columbia, therefore not requiring any kind of approval from the US. The Northern Gateway cannot yet be considered a fait accomplit, as it is bound to encounter stiff opposition in British Columbia, which is filled with both liberals and aboriginal First Nations, who, unlike their counterparts in the US, enjoy substantial territorial rights. Still, it does represent a third possibility beyond Keystone and the accident-prone trains.

But, the second and far more widely reaching point is that neither pipeline is necessary in any definition of the term that stretches wider than the immediate concern of those investors who have put their money into that particular slot machine and are waiting anxiously for the tumblers to stop rolling.

We don’t need the oil. Or perhaps more precisely, we can’t use it. Scientist have already calculated how much more oil we can burn before rendering the planet uninhabitable, and we have that much already, in more easily accessible forms than the tar sands that must be heated before being extracted, at tremendous economic and environmental cost. The fact that we have more oil than we can use is the reason why numerous shareholder groups are introducing resolutions to oil companies asking for an accounting of the stranded assets represented by the millions of barrels of oil that will be left underground, when it finally becomes clear to all involved that we dare not burn a single drop more. Those assets are currently valued at close to $20 trillion at today’s prices, but could become as worthless as a Confederate two-dollar bill in a world that can burn no more.

Just last week ExxonMobil agreed to disclose its climate-related, stranded asset risk, bowing to pressure from shareholder groups.

Even Shell Oil UK’s former chair James Smith, talks about the trillionth ton of carbon and how we dare not ever emit it (though we’re on a track to do so by 2040).

Indeed our love affair with fossil fuels is becoming high maintenance. Going  to such extreme and risky measures as fracking and tar sands extraction to get the fuel we’ve become hooked on—is that not akin to lavishing flowers and champagne and expensive dinners to elicit the smile that once came so easily?

In the words of Simon and Garfunkel:

How long can I delay?
We’re just a habit
Like saccharin.
And I’m habitually feelin’ kinda blue.
But each time I try on
The thought of leaving you,
I stop…
I stop and think it over…

As for old Br’er Rabbit, he escaped his plight by convincing Br’er Fox to throw him into the briar patch, where he’d been born and bred. Perhaps we could take a page from his book.

Article by RP Siegel of Justmeans, appearing courtesy 3BL Media.



June 24, 2014 0 comment
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U.S. State Department Report Expected to Boost Keystone XL Prospects

written by Yale Environment 360

The U.S. State Department’s long-awaited final report on the Keystone XL pipeline will likely conclude that the controversial project will not appreciably increase carbon emissions, according to Reuters.

The finding would not be the final word on the project, as the decision whether to allow the pipeline

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February 3, 2014 0 comment
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Estimating the Externalities of Fossil Fuels Isn’t an Easy Job

written by Walter Wang

I sympathize with those tasked with putting a precise dollar figure on the externalities of fossil fuels. Sure we know there are costs to society in terms of lung damage and long-term environmental damage, but what are they?

The story of the petcoke piles in modern-day Detroit is a case in point.

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August 12, 2013 1 comment
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Climate Scientist James Hansen to Retire from NASA to Pursue Climate Change Activism

written by Walter Wang

I’m sad to see that climate scientist James E. Hansen, after a 46-year career at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, will retire to pursue his activism on climate change. I can only image that the federal government is happy to see Hansen go; I always imagined his extremely visible presence as something of a much-needed thorn in the side.

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April 8, 2013 0 comment
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TransCanada Begins Construction of Southern Leg of Keystone Pipeline

written by Yale Environment 360

The Canadian company, TransCanada, has begun construction on the U.S. leg of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, installing segments in east Texas even as the fate of the pipeline’s northern leg remains in question.

Company officials confirmed that work began Aug. 9

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August 20, 2012 1 comment
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Pollutants from Tar Sands Sites Comparable to Mid-Sized City, Study Says

written by Yale Environment 360

The amounts of pollution produced by tar sands excavation sites are comparable to those of a medium-sized city or a large power plant, according to a new study by Environment Canada, the nation’s environmental agency.

Using satellite remote sensing observations, scientists

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February 24, 2012 1 comment
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Bill McKibben: Get Angry at Corruption in Congress

written by Walter Wang

Here’s environmentalist Bill McKibben at his best, pointing out that we should shelve the resentment and cynicism that we feel for corruption in Congress, and start to show how we truly feel: Angry. He writes, “We’ve reached the point where we’re unfazed by things that should shake us to the core.”

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January 6, 2012 0 comment
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Europe Could Ban Oil from Tar Sands and Other ‘Dirty’ Sources

written by Yale Environment 360

The European Union says crude oil extracted from Alberta’s tar sands should be ranked as a dirtier fuel source than oil tapped from conventional oil wells, a move that could effectively ban the import of the controversial oil.

The European Commission endorsed a measure

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October 6, 2011 0 comment
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Energy Secretary Chu Reluctantly Backs Keystone XL Pipeline

written by Walter Wang

Well, maybe “backs” is too strong a word. Let’s just say that Secretary of Energy Steven Chu is not openly critical of the Obama administration’s hard look at the Keystone XL pipeline, a project that would bring oil from the tar sands in northern Alberta across the border and deep into the United States.

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September 22, 2011 0 comment
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Tar Sands Pipeline Passes Key Hurdle as Protests Continue

written by Yale Environment 360

A controversial 1,711-mile pipeline that would link Canada’s tar sands to refineries in Texas and the Gulf Coast has passed a critical hurdle, even as environmental advocates continue to demonstrate outside the White House in opposition to the project.

While the project must still must pass several key

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August 30, 2011 1 comment
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Emissions from Tar Sands Will Dwarf Carbon Cuts in Canada

written by Yale Environment 360

Carbon dioxide emissions from the exploitation of Alberta’s tar sands will far outweigh emissions reductions in other sectors of Canada’s economy and will be a major contributor to the country missing its 2020 targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report.

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August 9, 2011 0 comment
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New Poll Pits Canadian Against American Perceptions of Climate Change

written by Walter Wang

America versus Canada might conjure up images of hockey. However, the Brookings Institution put out a new study that looks not at hockey but perceptions of climate change. The findings show that there are some key similarities and differences between the two countries’ citizens.

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April 15, 2011 0 comment
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World Oil Supplies Have Already Peaked, Study says

written by Yale Environment 360

The International Energy Agency says that the world has already reached its peak oil production, a surprising conclusion that could have significant effects on future oil prices. In its annual report, the group suggests that production rates likely topped out at about 70 million barrels a day in 2006. Two years ago, the group projected that conventional oil production would likely

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November 16, 2010 0 comment
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Success of Tar Sands Prompts Expansion Globally

written by Yale Environment 360

The successful development of the controversial oil sands in Canada has prompted oil companies to invest in similar operations elswhere, including Russia, Venezuela, the Congo, and Madagascar, according to a new report.

With the price of crude oil rising, companies — including BP and Shell — are increasingly looking to so-called “unconventional” oil deposits similar to the massive resources of bituminous sands found in Alberta, according to the report by the environmental group, Friends of the Earth.

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May 17, 2010 0 comment
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